Equinix advances construction, capacity leasing of Rio datacenter

US datacenter firm Equinix has nearly completed construction of its new site in Rio de Janeiro, RJ3, while also advancing the leasing of capacity ahead of the launch.

First announced in May last year, the project is expected to go into operation in the first half of 2025, with 560 racks and 1,467m² of colocation space in the first phase.

Photos posted on social media show the building and external structure completed.

“We are on track to deliver the project on time,” Equinix Brasil CEO Victor Arnaud told BNamericas. 

The company says several clients have signed up to space in the facility. “Pre-sales are also faster than expected," said Arnaud.

With an initial budget of US$94mn, RJ3 is in São João de Meriti municipality in the metropolitan region of the city of Rio de Janeiro and is Equinix's third and largest datacenter in the state.

The company does not usually disclose power capacity for its sites. However, RJ3 is an IBX retail datacenter aimed at enterprises rather than hyperscaler customers, which means it boasts capacity of below 10MW.

Equinix has two more datacenters in Rio de Janeiro, both in the state capital: RJ1 in the Botafogo district and RJ2
 in Del Castilho, approximately 17km away from the new site.

The company has announced US$262mn in investments in Brazil through 2026.